SystemRescueCd is an awesome computer saviour. This Linux bootable CD is packed with utilities for you to recover or organize better your machine. With it you can:
partition (or edit partitions of) your HD; save and restore data from different partitions; restore a bootloader; backup and archive data; run a virus scan; and wipe out safely your HD. A very handy bootable CD to have around, you’ll never know when you’ll be needing it but it is almost guaranteed that you will need it someday.
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Fedora 9 is scheduled to be released later this month. This is one of the most popular distros, gaining a lot of traction on the corporate world through its support by Red Hat. Would it be easy to handle by a Linux newbie?? Let’s see!
Once the live CD runs, we’re presented with the familiar Gnome layout, one panel at the top and another one at the bottom. This live CD already comes with Gnome’s latest release which is visibly noticeable by the integration with Pulse Audio, Transmission, and the multiple timezones in the clock application.
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Although I’m not a musician, I have an aunt who is. While trying to find everything that she would need to convert to Linux, I found MuseScore, a music score typesetter.
From their official site, the list of features include:
WYSIWYG, notes are entered on a “virtual note sheet” unlimited number of staves up to four voices/staff easy and fast note entry with mouse, keyboard or midi integrated sequencer and FluidSynth software synthesizer import and export of MusicXml and standard midifiles (SMF) platform independent code for Linux, Windows and Mac GNU GPL licenced You can download MuseScorefor Linux, and there is also a test version for Windows.
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Pligg is for Digg as GetBoo is for Del.icio.us.
I was happily surprised to have found this open source project. Besides from being a website that can organize my bookmarks, GetBoo also releases the entire platform for download under GPL license. So, not only can I use their services but I can also copy it freely!
The project was created in 2005 and the website already has 14000 registered members sharing their bookmarks.
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Freeciv was inspired by one of my favorite computer games, Civilization.
For those unfamiliar with this game, it is a strategy game where your objective is to manage a civilization from its birth until world domination (through military or cultural advancements). You can play against the computer or multiplayer through the net.
Freeciv has a bunch of maps and scenarios already loaded in it, and dozens of units (some I hadn’t even found on the proprietary Civilization).
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Duplicate files finder will help you get rid of duplicate files clogging your hard drive. This program runs on Windows, Linux, and since it supports Unix it may work on MacOS X. Any one willing to make this confirmation?
The program is very simple to use:
choose the directory you want to sweep; see the list of duplicates and where each file is stored; remove the duplicates you choose and create symbolic links when needed to fill file dependencies.
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VLC has just came out with a bug-fix new release, v 0.8.6f. From the site, the update includes:
“VLC media player 0.8.6e and earlier versions suffer from security vulnerabilities in the Subtitle demuxer, Real RTSP demuxer, MP4 demuxer and Cinepak codec.
This release also includes improved video output on multi-screen setups running Mac OS X and compatibility with Windows 9x/ME has been restored.”
You can get the newest version from VLC’s website.
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Before installing my Linux distro I did some pretty lengthy research on partitions. This was a concern for me since I was not doing a fresh install, but installing Linux right beside Windows with a dual boot installation.
If you want to have your entire computer Linux-only, you will not have much to worry, the automatic installation can handle everything by itself. But, if you want a dual boot with Windows, or want to leave some space for other operating systems, it is wise to study a bit about this topic before starting your installation.
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Pidgin is on a fast development track and just came out with their new version 2.4.1. There are several updates, such as:
Add support for setting buddy icons on Gadu-Gadu (Tomasz Salacinski) Fix incorrectly marking some Yahoo! contacts as blocked Increase XMPP ping timeout to 120 seconds, to prevent poor network connections from timing out unnecessarily. Fix for displaying channel & buddy names in conversation window when they have ‘&’ in them Some memory leak fixes, especially in the Text Replacement plugin Rectangular but non-square buddy icons have rounded corners in the buddy list.
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Inkscape, everyone’s favorite open source vector graphics editor has just come out with its version 0.46. From the website’s change log, a few highlights of what is new:
Paintbucket tool Tweak tool 3D Box tool Live path effects Color management New SVG filters and UI Native PDF and AI import XAML import/export Open Clip Art Library integration (import/export) Stock patterns Bitmap editing extension effects Full on-canvas gradient editing Engraver’s Toolbox in the Calligraphic tool Touch selection Dockable dialogs Command-line access to verbs Snapping made usable “3D” / axonometric grid Angled guidelines Conversion of objects to guidelines Significant speed and interactivity improvements Hundreds of smaller features and bugfixes Download it here.
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